Los Angeles, CA (August 11, 2010) – Turning to one of the most well-respected designers in the comics industry to create an elaborate cover for one of 2010’s most anxiously awaited titles, Archaia revealed the final cover to RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN, designed by the award-winning Todd Klein (America’s Best Comics). RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN (with pre-order sales nearing 5,000 units even before official solicitation) is the highly anticipated all-ages title coming from writer Jim McCann (Hawkeye & Mockingbird) and critically acclaimed and award-winning visual artist Janet Lee.

“Having a master designer like Todd Klein on board Team Dapper is a great honor,” said Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy. “I’ve been talking for months about how special this book is, and how much fun it is as an editor to be working on a fairy tale entirely unlike anything seen in comics before. With Todd joining creators Jim McCann and Janet Lee as we bring Dapper down the homestretch to publication, I can promise readers that this is one of those instances where the quality and artistry of this book lives up to the hype!”

The cover draws in many influences both within literature and without. “We wanted to go for a timeless feel, given both the importance that time plays in the story and the fact that this is a sort of classic fairy tale of old with some modern twists,” explained McCann. Janet Lee’s stunning découpage art is featured prominently in the cover design. “I love the look of books from the turn-of-the-century and classic children’s fiction. I love how they incorporate filigree and natural elements with illustrations that are now iconic,” said an excited Lee. “Todd was able to reference that feel and yet make it very today.”

RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN (hardcover, full color, 128 pages, 9.5” x 11”, $24.95) is a visually stunning fairy tale that combines steampunk with fantasy and science fiction with Renaissance style. Together, McCann and Lee have created a world where J. M. Barrie, Lewis Carroll and Maurice Sendak meet Jim Henson and Tim Burton—all sharply dressed in a pin-stripe suit and a dapper bowler hat!

“Seeing this whole package come together with this level of production and talent involved, along with more surprises to be announced in the coming weeks, is a dream come true,” beamed McCann. “Knowing that Archaia is behind us and recognizing their established high quality production values in their hardcovers makes RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN even more exciting as it gets closer to hitting shelves!”

A limited amount of advance copies of the RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN hardcover will be available at New York Comic Con (Oct. 8-10 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York, NY) and will go on sale in comic shops and wherever books are sold in November. To pre-order a copy, use ISBN code 978-1932386905.